Biden to Zelenskyy: ‘Honor to be on your side’
WASHINGTON » Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington on Wednesday to thank U.S. leaders and “ordinary Americans” for their support in fighting off Russia’s invasion, and to press for continued aid in the brutal months to come.
President Joe Biden and Congress responded with billions in new assistance and a pledge to help Ukraine pursue a “just peace.”
Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to the Oval Office, saying the U.S. and Ukraine would continue to project a “united defense” as Russia wages a “brutal assault on Ukraine’s right to exist as a nation.” Zelenskyy, on his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February, said he wanted to visit earlier, and his visit now showed the “situation is under control, because of your support.”
The highly sensitive trip was taking place after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides, and devastation for Ukrainian
civilians. Zelenskyy’s visit was meant to reinvigorate support for his country in the U.S. and around the world, amid concerns that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption to global food and energy supplies.
Just before his arrival, the U.S. announced its largest single delivery of arms to Ukraine, including Patriot surfaceto-air missiles, and Congress planned to vote on a spending package that includes about $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine.
Russia, Biden said, is “trying to use winter as a weapon, but Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world.”
He told Zelenskyy, who wore a combat-green sweatshirt and boots, “It’s an honor to be by your side.”
After the White House meeting, Zelenskyy and Biden were to hold a news conference in the East Room. The Ukrainian president was scheduled to give an address to Congress in the evening, which Vice President Kamala Harris would attend.